CARBONDALE - Art, like fine wine, gets better with age. At least that's 83-year-old Dorothy Doyle's point of view.

Art knows no age.

It courses through her veins, an addiction she can't shake. She's comfortable with a pencil in hand.

Doyle is an artist. Always has been and always will be. Her medium of choice is watercolor. Several of her works hang in her living room. She's dabbled in acrylics and oils, too, but lately she's been doing technical drawings with pencil and pen.

Doyle has always loved drawing. A graduate of Rochester Technical College with a degree in art in 1953, she spent most of her career doing technical drawing for companies like Martin Marietta.

"I've drawn all my life," Doyle said.

But, now, in the twilight of her life, when most people her age are retired and relaxing, Doyle has begun a new stage in her art career.

"My friend and family think it's a little weird for someone of my age to be starting a new career," she said. "But I enjoy it."

She's an artist.

Doyle moved to Aspen from back east in 1980. She did graphic work at the time for several local companies, including Blazing Paddles, an Aspen river rafting company, and the famous Red Onion bar and grill. She left her mark in Aspen for the next 25 years.

"Anne Owsley was the manager of the Red Onion at the time and she asked me to do something that she could use in advertisements," Doyle said.

So she parked herself across the street from the famous eatery, sharpened her pencils and sketched out a picture of the building with great detail. The picture was used until the Red Onion closed early in 2007.

"I still have the original drawing," Doyle said.

Doyle left Aspen in the mid '80s and went to Philadelphia for several years. Then her path led her to Salt Lake City for a spell, but she couldn't ever shake the cravings for the Roaring Fork Valley. Then, one holiday season four years ago, it happened. She fell in love with the valley all over again and decided to return.

"I always kind of regretted leaving," she confessed. "I had always wanted my ashes spread in the Roaring Fork Valley. I finally figured that I would enjoy it more than my ashes would, so I moved back."

Returning to the Roaring Fork Valley after more than 20 years of being absent, Doyle found inspiration once again in the historic buildings of Aspen. Her son, John Doyle, encouraged her to take up drawing again.

"I started in April of last year drawing again," Dorothy said. "It's become an addiction for me."

She's an artist.

She now finds herself 20 years younger, picking up where she left off, drawing the historic buildings of the town she loves.

"I've become so enamored with Aspen," she admitted. "The history of the valley is so terrific, I don't think that people understand how great it is."

She's hoping that her art will change that.

Dorothy rendered several drawings of the Wheeler, the Hotel Jerome, the Courthouse and the Armory. The first one she did was of the Aspen Community Church, in April 2007.

"I absolutely love drawing," she said. "I would sit sometimes for six hours drawing."

Sometimes, her son, John, will take a photo of the building and Dorothy will use a Photoshop image on her computer when creating a likeness. Photoshop allows her to zoom in and get all the detail she possibly can.

She's turned her drawings into cards, including the history of the buildings on the reverse side. She folds, packages and ships the card to some local valley retailers, but it's a lot of work.

"It's really a labor of love. I would rather just do the drawings but I have to do the other stuff too," she said.

After all, she's an artist and that's the part she loves.

Just like fine wine, her art has aged to perfection.

Contact John Gardner: 384-9114jgardner@postindependent.com



Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO